Remember a couple months ago when I downloaded Trove, thinking it was going to be the answer to my gaming dreams, and then declared it a complete boring snooze fest? Well, looks like I may be taking myself down that path again with Portal Knights.

I've been saying for a while that I want a game with Minecraft's level of customization and randomization, but a more structured quest. I want to be dropped in a world that is big enough to explore, but small enough to keep me on task. I want to be given concrete objectives to work toward, with a real sense of progression, rather than Minecraft's feeling of "just existing." I want to be forced to use the digging and building mechanics to survive (building bases, defenses, etc) but not forced to stay in one area for too long.

That's what Trove promised me, but instead it became a slog of "run to dungeon, fight boss, complete in two minutes, repeat." Every single world was that exact same pattern, with the only changes being that the enemies became slightly stronger with each world. There was no need to build, no need to explore, no need to mine, just walk, fight, win, walk, fight, win. Unlock the next level, walk, fight, win. Sooo boring.

Portal Knights looks like it has a more interesting progression system. Instead of just dropping you in the world and telling you to kill stuff, you have to construct the portal needed to get to the next level. Those materials are, of course, hidden throughout the level itself, thereby forcing you to explore and most likely dig to find them. Perhaps they're ores you have to mine underground, maybe they're in chests in the hidden dungeons. And since that's the case, you'll most likely have to set up a temporary base of operations in order to keep your stuff and retreat into during events (which the game hints at having). That, in itself, makes it sound a lot more fun than Trove. The game also has boss battles-- REAL boss battles.

Anyway, I really want to jump on the hype train here, but after Trove disappointed me I don't know if I want to get my hopes up. Have any of you guys looked into this game? What are your thoughts?